The Titans Take On Unearth In Issue #33
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead]
The Titans have arrived on Unearth, the world created by writer Ernest Hinton after he gained powers from the Source energy. The Titans must fight their way through hordes of creatures, and their only guide is Ben Rubel, who is reading through Hinton’s book about Unearth. Their missions are twofold; stop the Blood Cult from infecting the Primordial Red through Unearth and retrieve Raven’s soulself. Meanwhile, Mother Blood works with the lord of the realm, Prince Travesty, to stop the Titans and capture Steel and Green Lantern Kyle Rayner.
Titans #33 revels in the fantasy tropes of this issue, making reference to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien as well as Dungeons & Dragons. The latter does seem to be in vogue right now, likely influenced by the popularity of D&D podcasts such as Critical Role. Both Marvel’s Champions title and Rick and Morty have dived into D&D parody/homage in recent months as well.
Regardless, Titans is having a lot of fun in its own fantasy turn, and the reader is able to have some fun with it too. Tying it to the Blood Cult and retrieving the soulself of Raven allows the adventure to feel more relevant than a simple lark, too.
I unabashedly love the fantasy puns shared by the likes of Kyle Rayner and Beast Boy in this issue.
Prince Travesty is a pretty fun antagonist too, and his kindly allowing Hinton to go about his business almost shows a hint of mercy.
Bruno Redondo brings an appealing, sleek, and action-focused art style well-suited to the high adventure of the issue. Unearth is a bleak world with a good bit of visual personality, and Hi-Fi builds a thick, bleak atmosphere through use of purple, red, and black.
Titans #33 is a solidly entertaining issue that brings our heroes into a world not unlike Mordor to save both Raven and the Multiverse itself. It has some low points, but the overall story is solid and worthy of a recommendation. Feel free to check it out.
Titans #33 comes to us from writer Dan Abnett, artist Bruno Redondo, color artist Hi-Fi, letterer Dave Sharpe, cover artist Mico Suayan with Blond, and variant cover artist Tyler Kirkham with Arif Prianto.
